My 2003 S2000 got treated to a brand new Honda battery today. A couple of days ago when I tried to start-up the S2000, the old battery seemed a bit weak. And it makes sense because the prior owner had replaced it before I took ownership and that was 5 years ago!
So today, I made a few phone calls. My heart was on a new Optima dry cell battery (like the one in bowtie6) but damn! These batteries have become very, very expensive these days. Just for shits-and-giggles, I called the local Honda dealer and was very surprised with their answer: they had a genuine new Honda battery for less than what I would have to spend at a generic auto parts store. And, it comes with a generous 100 month replacement guarantee. Hmmm… Can’t go wrong with that.
The dead battery was an aftermarket generic replacement from the home-town of the original owner. Fair enough… Upon closer inspection the battery was certainly past its expiration date because the battery had leaked some of that oh-so-wonderful-acid that wreaks havoc on battery trays…
Fortunately the good folks from Suzuka designed a plastic tray fitted over the battery box holding the battery. Funny because this is one of the most common “issues” on Triumph TR6’s – the battery leaks right on the battery box and 9 of 10 TR6’s show acid damage in this area.
Not wanting to leave well enough alone… You know me! The battery is held in place by two metal rods that hook to the bottom of the battery box. The rods are not originally painted and this looks unfinished. So, I cleaned each rod with a little Scotch-brite and sprayed them with low-gloss rattle can paint. I think they turned out right nice…
And finally, today’s mileage…